Hajimeru
by Umeko the God
Summary: Eight-year-old Kujaku Mai, lonely after the death of her parents, unknowingly "meets" a future friend. :P Stupid summary... One-shot.


Just a short little (slightly stupid) fluffy thing I wrote because I was bored. :P Not very well written, oh well.  
Don't kill me for writing this instead of my fics that need updating!^^;;;

Mai rocks.

Disclaimer (man, I haven't done one of these in ages!): Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to Takahashi Kazuki, Shueisha Inc., Jump Comics, TVTokyo, Toei Animation, 4Kids, KidsWB!, Viz, etc., etc., and so on and so on.  
Barbie belongs to Mattel. ^^;;;

****

Hajimeru

Eight-year-old Kujaku Mai stared out the limousine window as she watched the snow-covered trees whiz by.

"Lady Mai, what would you like for a Christmas present?"

"Mama and Papa," she answered without having to think.

"Lady Mai…"

"I know, Sasagawa." The golden-haired girl sat back in her seat, facing forward. "They're not coming back, I know…"

The chauffeur smiled sadly as he looked at her in the rear-view mirror. "I was hoping that maybe some nice toys would help you cheer up."

"Thank you, Sasagawa, that's very thoughtful," Mai smiled. "But I'm happy enough just to see people at the mall. And besides, I got enough presents for my birthday last month."

"Are you sure?" Sasagawa cocked an eyebrow. "After your parents passed away, the house has been rather empty. Don't you get lonely?"

Mai thought about this. "Maybe…"

***

Mai walked down the toy store isles, gazing at the various puzzles and toys, Sasagawa following behind. A few caught her eye, but there was nothing that she'd actually want lying around the house. Eventually she came across the Barbie dolls, where a young lady of her early twenties was looking over them.

She walked up to her, smiling. "Hi!"

The woman looked down at her and smiled back. "Hello, there."

"Lady Mai…" Sasagawa gazed down at the child. "Mind your manners."

Blushing, she bowed. "Hello, ma'am. I am Kujaku Mai, only daughter of the Kujaku zaibatsu."

The woman knelt down to be eye-level with Mai. "Why, that's a pretty name. How old are you, Mai-chan?"

"Sev- eight." Mai giggled. "My birthday was a few weeks ago, so I'm not used to saying I'm eight yet."

"How sweet." The lady looked up at Sasagawa. "You have a very lovely daughter."

"Not my daughter, ma'am," he responded, bowing. "I'm the chauffeur, but Lady Mai has been left under our care after her parents passed away a few months ago."

"Oh, how sad."

"I want them back for Christmas!" Mai exclaimed, then smiled. "But they won't come back."

The lady laughed softly. "Mai-chan, would you like to help me with something?"

Mai beamed. "Okay!"

"I need to get a gift for my niece, she's turning six in a few weeks." She stood back up. "What do you think I should get her?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe a stuffed animal?"

Smiling, the lady answered, "I think that's a nice idea."

Suddenly, Mai pointed to the lady's bulging belly. "Are you pregnant?"

"Lady Mai!"

She retracted her hand and looked to the floor. "Sorry, ma'am."

"That's alright," the lady smiled. "Yes, my baby is due in about a month."

Mai grinned. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"A boy."

"I'd like to meet him sometime."

The woman smiled. "I'd like that."

Sasagawa sighed and glanced at his watch. "Lady Mai, it's getting late. I think it's time we be heading home."

Mai looked up at him. "All right, Sasagawa." Then she turned back to the woman and waved. "Bye-bye, Mrs.…"

"Jounouchi."

"All right. Bye, Mrs. Jounouchi!"

For reference's sake:

Kujaku Mai: Born November 20 (1971?)  
Age during the series: 24

Jounouchi Katsuya: Born January 25 (1980?)  
Age during the series: 16

The Yu-Gi-Oh! manga started in 1996, so, assuming that at the time the manga took place at that same time, this fic takes place about 16 years earlier, December 1979.

Useless information: I did quite a bit of research (I research SOMETHING for every chapter of every story I write) on toys that were popular in the late 70's/early 80's. Unfortunately, it didn't help much. According to one source, Barbie dolls were made available in Japan in 1978, but other sources begged to differ, so I made no mention of their release. I had considered including Gundam toys and Rubik's cubes (Gundam was first released in 1979, and Rubik's cubes were very popular in Japan in the early 80's), but couldn't figure out how.

Haijimeru- to begin (couldn't think of a better title in _any_ language :P)

Zaibatsu (zai: wealth; batsu: clan)- (from Webster's New World Dictionary, 1968) the new families that dominate Japanese finance, commerce, and industry

Just in case you were wondering about Mai's past, she was born to a very rich family, but her parents died when she was very young. She was very lonely (her worst fear to this day is being left alone, and Yami Malik eventually used that to his advantage), so she surrounded herself with material possessions to help mask her loneliness. As you probably know, Jounouchi was the one that made her realize what she was missing in life, and thus became friends.

^^;; I'm a Mai fangirl.


End file.
